Claire
by thecloudsarepretty
Summary: Life in the New World. This story takes place after the end of Lightning Returns, but before the prologue where Lightning is on the train after the credits. The initial pairing in this chapter is a means to an end so please be patient and keep an open mind. Pseudo Farroncest. This fic will be endgame Fangrai/Flight.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** The initial pairing in this chapter is a means to an end so please be patient and keep an open mind. This fic will be endgame Fangrai/Flight.

* * *

Claire couldn't remember being this anxious in a very long time. She didn't consider herself to be very good with people that she knew, let alone with a person she had never met before. She definitely wasn't a social butterfly and silently cursed Gerard for convincing her to go on the blind date she was currently getting ready for. Claire held up a sky blue blouse in front of herself in the full length mirror attached to the back of her walk-in closet door. It brought out the color of her eyes, but she tossed it aside and onto her bed, deciding it was too formal for the casual get-together she would be having with her mystery woman that night. How her co-worker guessed she even liked women to begin with was beyond her. Was she _really_ that obvious?

Claire stepped back into the closet to rummage through her clothing rack some more. She had an entire section of about twenty different men's style collared women's shirts, tailored to fit her body in all of the right places in various colors, textures and patterns. She had a particular style and she liked to stick to it, even if it did seem a little uniform from an outside perspective. There was something comforting to her about that. She selected one in soft beige with light blue vertical stripes to wear along with some dark brown suede pants. Yes, Claire was the type of person who actually folded and hung up every single pair of her pants so that they wouldn't wrinkle. She even ordered them by style and from darkest to lightest. Her closet, just like everything else in her life, was _very_ organized.

As soon as she finished picking out her outfit for the evening, she started having second thoughts about the ensemble. '_I can't just wear what I wear every day to meet her. I should at least attempt to make this date a little special'. _Claire furrowed her perfectly shaped pink eyebrows in thought. '_But I shouldn't go overboard either. It's just a casual date. Don't over think it.' _She held up the chosen outfit and nodded in approval. '_I'll wear high heels. That should be enough to make this outfit casual blind date worthy and at least I won't look too butch.' _She considered. She glanced at the neon blue letters of her bedside clock and noted that she still had a decent amount of time to get ready.

Claire shimmied into her skin tight pants then buttoned up her collared shirt, leaving the top couple of buttons undone. Next up would be makeup and hair. One of the first things she learned at the start of her career was to always do wardrobe before makeup and hair. This way clothing doesn't end up with unfortunate makeup smears and other stain nightmares around the neck. Claire stared herself in the eyes as she applied a subtle line of brown eyeliner to her lower lid. She ran a brush through her asymmetric pink locks and as usual it had no effect. The long side remained wavy while the short side remained spiky. There was very little she could do about it. Hair product didn't even seem to work after more than an hour after application.

As soon as she pressed her lips together after applying strawberry lip gloss, her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Gerard calling to check up on her and make sure she doesn't bail at the last minute no doubt. She raised her eyebrow and answered the phone.

"You don't have to check up on me you know." She said into the phone.

"Hey I just wanted to make sure you actually show up to this one. This girl is too sweet to stand up."

"You know I wouldn't do that. I've already committed to this…"

"And you don't back out of your commitments" Gerard finished for her.

"Exactly" Claire said in a no-nonsense manner.

"Okay. Okay. I just had to check and make sure. I know you'll love this girl. She's adorable in a school-teacher-y sort of way."

"Tch. Isn't that because she _is_ a school teacher?"

"Oh Claire, honey you know what I mean. You'll thank me later I know it. I have a good feeling about this one."

"I hope so after the other disasters you set me up with."

"Sweetie, it's not my fault if you've got it going on so much that a girl can't get enough of _all _that."

"That's a polite way to refer to stalking."

"So the last couple got a little clingy. This one will be different. I promise."

"I sure hope so. Getting a restraining order takes a lot of unnecessary effort."

"It won't be that bad. This one passed the Riley test. She's a good one."

"That cat hates everyone. How you fell in love with that miserable creature is beyond me."

"Riley loves you too."

The pink haired woman held the phone between her ear and shoulder as she clipped her watch on around her wrist, glancing at the time.

"Tch. Crap. I've got to go. I'm going to be late."

"Okay. Good luck Claire! Knock'r dead. Just… you know, not literally."

"Ha. Ha."

Claire glared at her phone and shoved it into her back pocket, grabbed her keys and wallet and walked out the door.

* * *

Rain spattered against the windshield of Claire's champagne colored Jeep Wrangler.

"Layft on Turner Lane", her GPS resounded through the noisy interior of the sports utility vehicle. Her old Wrangler certainly made a lot of noise and street sounds could easily be heard through the thin canvas covering of the top portion of the vehicle, hence the need for a nice booming volume.

"Turn Roight on Sybil Ayvenue in one quarter miles", the device said in a female voice with a strong Australian accent." Claire had a serious thing for Australian accents.

"Approaching destination on right."

Claire passed at least twenty cars before finding a decent parking spot on the side of the road, which was actually quite fortunate considering how horrible parking usually was in the city. Peach light from sunset clouds reflected off of the rain soaked pavement Claire's high heels clacked against as she walked to the bistro she would be meeting her date at. The rain had settled down to a feather light drizzle that barely registered to the pink haired woman, who's mind was currently buzzing with worried thoughts and imagining a thousand ways the date could go horribly wrong. Claire worried her lip and patted the front pocket of her shirt, which held the red rose she would be using as an identifier for the blind date.

Before she knew it she was standing in front of the bistro. She saw a beautiful young woman with pink hair a couple shades darker than her own standing in front of the restaurant. Claire looked down to see that the woman had a white rose in her hand as well, letting her know that this was her blind date. Claire's gaze took in her date's sensible flat dress shoes, glanced up smooth pale legs that met with a mid-thigh length cream colored skirt, to a sleeveless floral blouse and finally to the kindest blue eyes she had ever looked into. The eye contact brought a shocking and sudden familiarity that Claire had trouble explaining since she was certain she had never met this woman before, and against her usual nature, she instantly liked and trusted this woman. This brought a warm subtle smile to her face as she said,

"You must be Serah." Claire plucked the rose from her pocket and held it out for Serah to take.

"Oh" Serah said and smiled again. "Thank you. You must be Claire. It's so nice to finally meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Serah." Claire felt softness brush her finger tips and she tore her gaze away from Serah's gentle eyes to notice she was being handed the other woman's white rose. This brought another small smile to her lips. "Thank you. Should we go inside now?"

Serah nodded and Claire held the door open for her. Smells of freshly baked bread and cooked meats increased tenfold as the two walked into the quaint little restaurant.

"Reservations for Claire", the host said shortly after the two women walked in and a waiter seated the two in a warmly lit corner booth with dark brown leather seats.

"Cozy.", Serah said appreciatively after sitting down.

"I'll be right back for your drink order" The waiter said before rushing off to seat the next customers.

"Very." Claire said as she opened up the menu to peruse the drink selection.

The two didn't have to wait long before the tall blond waiter with a shaggy haircut rushed back. The restaurant wasn't that crowded. "Are you both ready to order?"

"Yes. I'll have iced tea and betteraves to share." Claire said.

"I'll take ginger ale and a glass of rose wine, please." Serah said.

The waiter filled their two glasses with iced water from a pitcher and left.

Claire took a moment to look around the restaurant. The place had a good level of lighting. It wasn't too bright or too dark. Varying styles of paintings hung on the upper half of the honey brown painted walls. The bottom half was separated by a strip of molded mahogany and was painted a darker brown than the top half within the same color range. The painting next to their booth was a colorful scene of a couple walking down a tree lined street during autumn in thick vibrant brush strokes. Booths lined the walls and square tables with white table cloths and white napkins filled the center of the space.

Claire turned her gaze back towards Serah who was also looking around while placing a strand of pink hair behind her ear. She decided to start a conversation before things could get awkward, even though she wasn't terribly worried about it considering she felt so comfortable in the other woman's presence already. That actually unsettled her a little bit, but only just a little bit.

"So how did you meet Gerard, Serah?"

"Oh he's actually my neighbor, but we didn't actually meet until I rescued his cat from the garbage collector."

"That animal is a demon."

"Oh, but he was such an angel when I took the poor soaking wet little guy out of the bin after some of the neighborhood kids put him in there, though Gerard did mention that he's usually very prickly."

"That's an understatement. I'm glad you were there to rescue him before he ended up in the compactor at least. You know, Gerard named him Riley because he 'gets all riled up'" Claire said.

"That's the corniest thing I've ever heard" Serah giggled.

"Yeah... southern humor." Claire smirked.

The two went back to looking at the menus to decide what they wanted for dinner.

"Claire… I hope this doesn't sound weird, but you seem really familiar. Have we… met before?"

"You seem really familiar to me too. I was actually wondering the same thing, except I definitely would have remembered meeting you".

Pink tinted Serah's cheeks. "Yeah… I would have remembered meeting you too." The warm smile didn't leave Serah's face as she looked down at her menu again.

A few more silent minutes passed before the waiter came back with their drinks.

"It'll be just a few more minutes for the betteraves. Have you decided what you want to order yet?"

"I have, have you?" Serah asked Claire, to which the older woman nodded.

"I'll have moules marinière" Serah said in a flawless accent.

"And I'll have the hanger steak", Claire ordered. There was no way she was going to go out to a nice restaurant and miss out on an opportunity to have a good steak.

"Will that be all?" The waiter asked.

Serah and Claire exchanged a nod. "That should be it.", said Claire.

The waiter bowed his head and walked off towards the kitchens.

"That was a very impressive accent. Do you speak French?" The older of the two asked.

"I studied for four years in university while I was getting my teaching degree. I've been fascinated by the romantic era of the French culture since I was a little girl." Serah replied.

"Have you ever been to France before?" Claire asked.

Serah took a quick sip of her ginger ale before responding. "I have. My parents paid for a vacation there as a graduation gift when I finished university. It was everything I ever dreamed of. Have you ever been before?"

Claire turned her glass of iced tea between her thumb and forefinger on the table. "I've traveled to a lot of different places because of my job and being in the military, but I've never been to France. What was it like?"

"Well the museums were lovely. I didn't spend too much time at the Louvre because it was so crowded, but the other museums were nice. My favorite was Musée Rodin because it has such a beautiful garden. There were gardens and parks everywhere. It's a very green country. There were plenty of café's as you would expect, with outdoor seating so you could just sit back with a nice coffee and crepe and people watch for as long as you like. I ended up finding a nice little bistro tucked away in the city that mostly only locals went to. I ended up visiting it several times and they kind of adopted me there. The fresh markets were _amazing. _They are a lot like the farmers markets we have here, except with a much broader selection and they were _everywhere_."

Claire nodded, and took a sip of her tea as she listened intently. The waiter finally arrived with their betteraves, a basket of warm sliced baguette, and two salads as well as Serah's rose wine. They thanked him and he left without further interruption.

"Help yourself." Claire said, referring to the betteraves.

"Thank you" Serah said with a smile and began scooping the roasted beets, goat cheese, and orange segments onto her small plate. "So you said that you traveled a lot for your job. What is it that you do exactly, if you don't mind me asking?"

Claire finished chewing her small mouthful of baguette before answering. "I'm a production coordinator for a small film company. I have to travel with the whole crew to whatever location we happen to be shooting at in order to make sure things run smoothly and everyone has everything that they need."

Serah looked at Claire in awe. "That's amazing. How did you get into that line of work?" the younger woman asked.

"The company I work for now was filming a military action drama on my base when I was a sergeant and I ended up getting assigned to help out with the filming process to make sure they stayed out of everyone's way essentially. I somehow ended up with the task of coordinating their filming schedule with our exercise schedules and impressed my current boss enough to where they wanted to hire me when I transferred from active duty to reserves."

"I'm surprised they hired you as a production coordinator and not as an actress. You're too beautiful to be behind the camera and not in front of it." Serah paused and looked startled, realizing what she just said out loud. "I'm so sorry. I hope that wasn't too forward."

"You're fine. That was actually really sweet. You're… you're very beautiful too." Claire said with a half smile. Her cheeks were uncharacteristically warm. Something about Serah just warmed her heart. "So you're a teacher right? Which grade do you teach?"

"I teach kindergarten."

"What's your favorite part about your job?"

"Well I love the kids, but that's obvious. I just love watching how their little minds work. Children have such a different perspective of the world than adults do. Everything is just so new and full of magic for them. I know I'm not supposed to pick favorites, but there is this set of twins in my new class that are just hilarious. Whenever the kids play cowboys and Indians, the girl twin always makes the boy twin be the cow. Not even a horse, but a cow, and he never complains."

"Heh. That is pretty cute." Claire said with a smirk. Imagining Serah running around chasing a bunch of children was a very endearing thought.

"Yeah, she really has him wrapped around her little finger."

"Do you have any siblings, Serah?"

"No, I'm an only child, but I always wanted an older sister growing up. What about you, Claire?"

"I'm an only child too. That's probably a good thing though because I would definitely end up being the cow."

"You would make a really cute cow"

"I'm not sure that's really a compliment", Claire chuckled good-naturedly. Serah gave a dazzling smile in response and continued eating her salad. They both enjoyed each others company so much that before they knew it, the main course had arrived.

Serah looked up from her plate of mussels just in time to see the look of pure rapture on Claire's face as she took a bite of her juicy steak.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were just here for the steak." Serah said with a wry smile.

"Well the steak _is_ good, but your company is better." Claire responded with complete honesty. Serah reached across the table and took Claire's hand in her own, rubbing the back gently with her thumb.

"_You_ are a charmer." the younger woman proclaimed.

Butterflies fluttered in Claire's stomach from the contact combined with the look Serah was giving her. She bit her bottom lip subconsciously and stroked the sensitive underside of Serah's palm with her own thumb in response. Serah held Claire's hand for a few more moments before giving it a small squeeze and letting it go to return to eating her meal. Claire went back to enjoying her steak and wondered why Serah had such a strong effect on her when they had only just met. '_Who is Serah deep down? Maybe if I ask her…'_

"This might seem like a strange question, but what's your greatest treasure?" Claire asked and took a sip of her tea.

"That's actually a very interesting question, but I'm not sure how to answer it." Serah looked down in thought with her pointer finger on her bottom lip. "I guess it would be the kids I teach, but more specifically that I get to provide a learning environment that broadens their view of the world, but also feeds their curiosity and sense of wonderment while at the same time getting a glimpse of what it was like to be that innocent again. That experience itself is very precious to me. Don't get me wrong though, I enjoy being not so innocent too." Serah said with a smirk and rubbed her foot up Claire's ankle under the table. Claire's cheeks warmed again. _'This one is going to be a handful and I sure as hell don't mind.' _

"What's yours?" Serah asked

"I feel like it has to be out there but I just haven't found it yet." said Claire.

"I have a feeling that you'll find it when you least expect it. That's how these things seem to happen." Serah said reassuringly.

Most of the rest of dinner was spent simply eating and enjoying the food. Claire couldn't help finding the way Serah's nose scrunched up as she chewed her food sometimes to be really adorable and the feeling in her heart just grew even more. The server came with the bill and after a small bit of negotiating with Serah, Claire finally won out on being able to pay for their date.  
_  
_"Let me walk you to your car." Claire said.

"I took a cab here so don't worry about it."

"There's no way I'm letting you pay for a cab. Let me take you home."

"I would like that"

"Then it's settled. Come on, I parked over this way."

The two walked to Clair's Jeep and Claire held the door to the vehicle for Serah and helped her into it. The opening of the Jeep was so far off of the ground and difficult to get into if one wasn't used to it.

"You said you lived in the same complex as Gerard, right?"

"That's right."

"Okay, I know where that is."

If Claire could see Serah's face in the darkened SUV, she would have noticed that she looked slightly hesitant about something. Making up her mind, Serah placed her hand on Claire's thigh. Claire let in a sharp intake of breath as a jolt of electric surprise rushed through her at the contact. She smiled and took Serah's hand in her own, stroking the back of it gently with her thumb, only letting go when she needed to change gears and always returning it once the gear shift was complete.

It didn't take very long for them to reach Serah's apartment and Claire parked in an empty spot on the curb.

"Let me walk you to your door"

Serah squeezed Claire's thigh and said "Okay".

Claire came around to help Serah out of the SUV and slid her hand into Serah's as they walked to Serah's place.

They stopped in front of Serah's door and Claire bent down to give Serah a kiss on the cheek. Claire felt Serah smile against her lips.

"Well, good-"

Serah pulled Claire down by her collar and planted a languid kiss on her mouth. Initially shocked, Claire didn't take long to recover and deepened the kiss in return. Serah's tongue slipped from her mouth to lick Claire's lower lip to which the elder granted access. Claire stroked Serah's tongue with her own. Serah moaned into her mouth and passionately returned the gesture.

Images of a younger, smiling Serah lit by a bright summer sun on a beach filled Claire's mind and she was hit by a wave of unexplainable nostalgia.

Claire gave Serah another leisurely kiss before breaking away in a huff of breath. Serah leaned in at the loss of contact.

"I feel this pull with you, Claire. I can't explain it." Serah said, a bit breathless.

"I know what you mean. I feel it too, Serah."

"Come inside with me."

Claire leaned down to give Serah another slow, sweet kiss as Serah fumbled with the door behind her and pulled Claire in as they continued to share their kiss."

It didn't take long for them to find their way to Serah's bedroom where Claire lead the both of them to lie on Serah's bed, all the while never breaking contact from the kiss.

Claire's hand trailed from Serah's neck down her front where she slowly, accidentally brushed the back of her hand against the younger woman's nipple before sliding her thumb down Serah's sensitive side. Taking this as encouragement, Serah ran her hand smoothly against the older woman's back, and gave Claire's butt a firm squeeze, pulling her flush against her front. Claire bit and sucked on Serah's lower lip and pulled her closer. Warmth radiated from her stomach, down to her core and she just couldn't get close enough to Serah. These clothes would need to go soon.

Claire rolled on top of Serah, automatically placing her thigh between the younger woman's legs. Serah squeezed the older woman's ass again and brought her possessively closer, pressing her own thigh against Claire's center. Claire moaned into the kiss and reached up to rub Serah's nipple between her pointer and middle finger as she gently grasped the younger woman's smaller breast. Serah rocked underneath Claire, causing sweet friction between their legs. Claire gasped and reached under Serah's shirt to play with the younger woman's nipple while licking sensually at her lower lip.

Serah had enough of this and hurriedly began unbuttoning the elder's collared shirt, tossing it to the side and rocked her hips upward in an ever increasing rhythm. Claire broke the kiss to take off Serah's floral blouse and twin blue eyes momentarily locked. A spark of emotion ran between the two and Claire's stomach did a pleasant flip as her heart filled with unbridled adoration. '_Is this what love at first sight feels like?'_ She crashed their lips together with renewed ardor. Their bras quickly followed their shirts to who knows where around the room and Serah began the task of helping Claire shimmy out of her difficult sued pants. The older woman slid Serah's skirt down her soft legs along with her black lace underwear and placed her hand hesitantly on her stomach above her mound.

Serah dragged the back of her nails delicately up Claire's stomach towards her chest and slid her hand over her breast and grasped lightly, running a thumb over a hardened nipple. She could feel Claire's wetness against her thigh and it was doing all kinds of wonderful things to her body. She sucked and bit a trail down the side of Claire's neck. The older woman let out a sexy moan. She noticed Claire's hesitation and stopped suckling her neck.

"Touch me, Claire."

Serah said breathily and let out a gasp as she felt fingers slide through her wetness and suddenly fill her. Claire reveled in the slick warmth and pressed her own moist center against Serah's smooth leg. Serah hummed in pleasure before giving the elder's nipple on last gentle pinch and sliding her own hand down Claire's toned abs and through soft pink curls. Claire gasped as she felt Serah stroke gently down her clitoris. She younger woman smiled into their kiss and slid her fingers into succulent warmth. Claire rubbed Serah's sensitive nub with her thumb while plunging in and out of her depths as she was filled repeatedly by the younger's pumping digits. Pressure built at the ever increasing speed and their passion sored to new heights as they rocked against each other's palms. Pleasure amplified with each churning pass and Claire felt her walls contract. Heat ran through her entire being as her climax coursed through her in an electrical explosion and her inner walls pulsed against Serah's thrusting fingers.

"Serah!" She cried out breathily as her orgasm slammed into her. She recovered quickly and continued plunging in and out of Serah, while circling her extremely aroused nub with her thumb. Serah clung onto her for dear life as she panted into Claire's ear. She let out a cry of ecstasy and her back arched against the bed as she came hard around Claire's fingers.

Claire held her as she came down from the adrenaline rush of their love making, kissed the top of her sweat damp brow and ran a hand through her hair. The gesture was only a momentary respite though because Claire had more planned for the younger woman. Claire shifted on top of Serah once again and looked into her gentle eyes.

"Let me love you, Serah."

Serah's eyes shone with love as she smiled and nodded her consent.

Claire gave an indulgent kiss to Serah's lips and then nuzzled her nose into her neck only to leave a trail of sweet kisses down the column of her throat, down towards her petite breasts. A stream of breath exhaled from the older woman's nose tickled Serah's pert nipples and she let out a small giggle at the sensation. Claire smiled and took the bud into her mouth and gently bit and sucked. Serah gasped as Claire rolled her tongue over the hardened peak as she suckled. She gave the hardened nipple a final lick before moving on to the next one, which she lavished with just as much attention while continuing to roll her thumb over the first to keep it stimulated. Claire rubbed her cheek against the peak of Serah's breast before making her way down Serah's flat stomach. The long side of the older woman's hair left another ticklish trail down Serah's stomach as she peppered kisses down her abdomen. Claire paused at the juncture of Serah's pelvis and thigh, gently biting and sucking the sensitive area. Serah wriggled in pleasure as Claire left her mark on porcelain skin.

Finally Claire reached the apex between Serah's thighs. Her breath alone was enough to arouse her most sensitive area. Claire paused and looked up, locking eyes with Serah. Seeing Claire's beautiful face between her thighs sent a jolt of pleasure and excitement through her body and seeing the combined look of love and lust on her face melted her entire being. Claire closed her eyes and lapped at Serah's delicate folds, running her tongue upward to lick at the sensitive nub before moving back down and delving into her sex. She gently thrust the muscle in and out of Serah's hot wetness and greedily drank in her essence.

_The behemoth changed to bipedal form and swung its heavy club at Claire's midsection, missing by a hair's _breadth_ as she narrowly dodged backwards. She landed in a roll and pulled her fallen gunblade out of the ground where the creature had knocked it out of her gasp in a prior attack. _

'_Why am I thinking about these childhood dreams now? Now isn't the time for this. I just want to think about Serah.'_

Claire shook the images from her mind to concentrate on the task at hand; showing Serah how much she loved her. By now she was sure of her feelings. She had never once felt this at ease or this close to another soul in her lifetime, or felt so much warmth and devotion in her heart that it was set to burst at any moment. Normally this type of feeling would frighten her. She might even try to shut it off and stow it away behind impenetrable walls, but she was so swept away in it, so taken by Serah that she couldn't find the will to; even if she wanted to and she surely didn't want to. Something about Serah just opened her up like no other and shined a light and warmth on her heart that she never felt before until now. The closer she got to Serah, the farther she fell. Yes, tonight would be about loving Serah and she would do her best to show it. '_Come for me, Serah.'_

Claire felt silken walls tighten around her fingers. Her fingers pumped against the added pressure, stroking harder against the spongy part of Serah's upper wall. Serah's breathing became heavier and shallower. Little moans escaped with every breath. It was music to Claire's ears. Claire thrust herself deeper as she sucked and licked on Serah's swollen clit.

"Claire!" Serah half breathed, half screamed as her walls first loosened, then pulsed rhythmically around Claire's pumping fingers. Claire slowed her pace, delving even deeper into Serah as she came completely undone under the elder's touch.

Claire wiped her mouth and climbed up to give Serah a tender kiss. Serah rested her head against Claire's naked breast and the two drifted to sleep in each others embrace.

* * *

That night Claire dreamed of Serah smiling in the kitchen while cooking food and caught a glimpses of her growing from a small child into a young woman in a beach side town called Bodhum. She remembered training rigorously in the military and the feeling of pride at being able to wear her sergeant's pauldron for the first time. She remembered the feel of her red cape fluttering in the wind while trekking across Gran Pulse with her group of l'cei friends as they fought against their fates, countless foes and damnable odds. She remembered being transformed in Valhalla to fight endless battles for a sleeping goddess and the final fight against a deceitful and angry god. She remembered the dawning of a new universe and the birth of a new life with new hope.

Claire awoke with a start, suddenly feeling the weight of two complete lifetimes, one of which that had lasted for over half a millennia. She looked down at the naked woman in her arms with a mixture of elated relief and dread. The younger woman stirred in her sleep and slowly opened her eyes, sleepily focusing on the older woman holding her. A look of confusion flitted across her features.

"Lightning?"


	2. Chapter 2

Big thank you to Illusiax for being such a massive support while writing this story.

* * *

"Lightning? " Serah asked groggily after having lifted her head from its comfortable spot on Claire's soft breast. She looked into the concerned blue eyes of her older sister and finally registered that they were in fact naked.

"You're here and oh Etro, and we… we slept together." Serah sat up, pulling the sheets up to her chest. She placed a hand on her forehead and closed her eyes, trying to will the new information away. 'I cheated on Snow with my sister.' Serah thought in a panic.

Claire let out a long drawn out sigh.

"Oh my god. I have to find Snow"

_That stung_, Claire thought. A flash of anger coursed through the older woman. She practically jumped out of the bed and started angrily gathering her clothes from around the room. Normally Claire would be very modest in a situation like this, but right at that moment she was extremely ticked off and decided that they were well past modesty.

"Really, Serah? We just found each other again and we're in this entirely fucked up situation and the first thing you can think about is finding Snow? Where are your priorities?" Lightning shoved her other leg into her pants, zipping them up and started hastily buttoning up the shirt she already had on.

Serah sat zoned out on the bed, completely oblivious to her surroundings, mind blank and in absolute shock. Not receiving an answer from Serah caused another spark of sadness and anger to surge through Claire. Not being able to deal with the situation herself, she slid on her heels; made sure she had all of her things and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

Claire stomped down the stairs and rushed through the courtyard. _Damn it. I still have her taste in my mouth,_ Claire thought and became very deeply disturbed. She felt a wave of nausea hit her and she spit onto the grass next to the sidewalk. _This can't be happening._ Claire hurried to her Jeep and climbed in. An image of her face between Serah's legs came unwelcomed to her mind. She could even hear the little moans Serah made last night and it brought with it a remnant of excitement from her subconscious. Now that distressed her more than anything.

"Damn it!" she yelled and hit the steering wheel with both fists. She started the Jeep and peeled out of the apartment complex. She was in desperate need of a toothbrush.

* * *

Serah curled onto her side on the bed as the tears came streaming down her cheeks. Her bed sheets still smelled like Claire. More specifically they smelled like Claire and her and sex. By the time Serah pulled out of her shock induced stupor, Lightning was long gone. Serah was both saddened and relieved by this. She wasn't sure which one she felt more of at the moment. She had no idea how to feel about the situation. She was still feeling numb from the shock of it all. Serah took in another long breath; accidentally taking in the scent of Claire again as she did so. It brought an odd feeling of comfort before an avalanche of sadness came crashing in with it. She got out of the bed as her eyes began to water again and she began stripping the sheets off of the bed to wash.

She couldn't believe that she had found Lightning again only to have things screwed up so completely -or was it Claire now? Lightning had always been Claire to Serah, but now she wasn't so sure. Lightning was the one who bottled everything up behind an impenetrable fortress where most of the time, only anger could escape, and right now Claire was acting a whole lot like Lightning. Did Serah even know who Claire was anymore? Was she still her Claire or was she some entirely new Claire?

She tossed the sheets into the washing machine, added detergent and started it up. She barely registered the stickiness between her thighs left over from the previous night as she walked to the bathroom. She was in dire need of a nice, hot, soothing shower. She turned on the faucet and waited for it to heat up before walking under the torrent. She let the water pour over her head and slicked her hair back, feeling the heat seep into her muscles as it ran down her body. She squirted some peach body wash onto her luffa and worked up a lather with it between her hands before lifting her arm to begin scrubbing her now slick body.

She ran the luffa over her small breasts, down her stomach and over her pelvis where she noticed the dark love mark Claire had left near her womanhood the night before. The memory of Claire sensually kissing her way down her stomach towards her mound came to mind and brought with it a wave of arousal as she remembered the sensation of Claire's lips and teeth against her skin at such a sensitive area. She felt heat rush between her legs and it left her more confused than ever. It left her even more confused that she wasn't appalled by the feeling. Was she just that numbed by the situation to where she didn't care anymore or did she honestly feel this way for Lightning now? Had she always felt something like this for Claire, but never acknowledged it? They were always very close.

Serah wondered again at who her sister was now. For her it was easy because her new life wasn't that much different than her old life, she was even still a teacher like she used to be in the old world. Maybe deep down Lightning was the same too. In some ways she really hoped not. Especially in regards to how Lightning handled emotional situations in the past. Serah loved her sister more than life itself and was scared to death that this situation might cause Lightning to fall back into her old routine of avoiding her emotions and shutting everyone else out. Given what just happened between them, she was afraid that this would be too much for Claire to deal with and Lightning would shut her out for good.

Serah couldn't bear the thought of losing her sister, even if that meant putting aside her own feelings of distress over the situation. She had to get to Claire before she shut Serah out for good. She had to get to Claire before she decided that she never wanted to see her again. She had to make this right somehow.

* * *

None of the tribulations she had gone through from first being made a L'cei, then becoming Etro's champion, and finally as the Savior of humanity, could have ever prepared her for a situation like this. She could face the grimmest of situations with all of the cards stacked against her. She could even battle and win against god himself, but this she couldn't face. This was a battle she could not win. She didn't think she could ever face Serah again and the realization brought a deep sorrow to her soul.

Finding things to do to get her mind off of Serah was becoming exceedingly difficult for Lightning and no matter what she kept herself busy with, her sister always came to the surface of her thoughts. She took a shower – Serah. She went for a jog – Serah. She went out for lunch – more Serah. She even drove all the way out to the shooting range at the other end of the city, because damn it, she needed to shoot something and still all she could think about was Serah. That helped a little, but only a little, and now she was currently sitting through her third Netflix movie and it was barely just getting dark outside.

Lightning couldn't help but feel very odd watching the action adventure movie she was currently seeing because the situations the heroes were going through on the screen were nothing but daily activities to her in the past. She used to breeze through situations like those as naturally as a fish swam in water, even during her days in the guardian corps before she became a l'cei. Try as she might she just couldn't feel the sense of excitement she would have felt just yesterday by watching these movies. It was just one more thing to add to the list of things ruined by getting her memories back.

On one hand, she was disappointed because her life would never be the same. Action movies being ruined for life was just the start of the drawbacks of having her memories returned to her. In some slightly twisted way she was even saddened that the potential relationship she could have had with Serah in her new life was now ruined and she would never know that happiness for what it could have been. On the other hand she was grateful that she could remember the journey she and Serah took for each other and how much their love meant as sisters.

She was grateful to remember being Lightning. She was afforded the opportunity to be proud of herself and all of the things she and her friends had accomplished. She had memories again of what it was like to live as a goddess. The power she possessed and the roles that came with it had its drawbacks, but she also had a miraculous glimpse of what it was like to live in an entirely different universe and to see the creation of a new one.

It would be easy to think that regaining these memories again would be like waking up from a lie, but that wasn't the case for Lightning. She was still Claire, the girl who moved from military base to military base growing up as the child of a soldier. She was still the girl who went camping with her dad and enjoyed learning everything she could about nature and the earth. She was still the girl who learned how to ride her bike on sunset streets in Fort Polk, Louisiana. She was still the woman who graduated from the University of California with a 3.4 grade point average. She was still the person who made a show of liking nothing but hard rock music, but also secretly loved bands like The Spice Girls. She was still the same woman, but she was also Lightning.

Claire stared ahead at the screen and watched as the movie wrapped up to the close with the hero getting the girl in the end. When the leading man leaned down to kiss his damsel in distress she saw herself kissing Serah in her mind again. That was the last straw. She had been thinking similar thoughts all day and with them came heart piercing guilt and she just couldn't take it anymore. She needed to wash Serah away from her. She needed to feel the touch of another woman and prove to herself that she could move on from these thoughts. She needed to prove to herself that her night with Serah didn't mean what it did and replace it with new memories. Maybe then she could go back to normal. Maybe then, after some time, she could even face Serah again.

Claire went to her closet and chose one of the sexiest outfits she had. She donned a short black halter dress with stiletto heels and left her apartment on a mission.

* * *

Serah was beyond frantic. She had been trying to call Claire all day and she kept getting sent straight to voice mail. Each call left a deeper feeling of dread within Serah and she had no way to alleviate it by fixing things with Claire. All she had was Claire's phone number and no other way to reach her. She wished they had gone to Claire's place last night instead of to her apartment because that way she would at least know where Claire lived. It suddenly occurred to her that Gerard might know where Claire lives and she was filled with a sense of hope.

Serah walked up a flight of stairs, and walked three doors down to Gerard's apartment on the second floor. Serah heard loud music from the other side of the door so she made sure to knock extra loud. She waited thirty seconds and then knocked again even louder. The door opened and an inebriated Gerard appeared from behind it.

"Serah! It's so nice to see you. Your little date went well last night did it?" Gerard said with a hand flourish and a wink. Gerard had actually seen the two women making out in the hallway last night when he was bringing up groceries to his apartment. He wasn't about to tell Serah that though. He didn't want to embarrass the girl. Serah looked at him questioningly.

"Actually that's sort of the problem. I need Claire's address."

"Oh nuh uh, honey. I'm not falling for that one again." Gerard said, referring to one of Claire's previous clingy dates. Serah didn't strike him as the clingy type though.

Serah debated whether or not to tell Gerard the truth because she didn't want him to know their embarrassing secret, but she was desperate and had to take the risk. "Gerard, Claire is my sister."

"Well, that's awkward." Gerard took a good look at Serah and saw a resemblance. They both did have rose colored hair and that was kind of rare. They weren't related by blood in this lifetime, but he didn't have to know that.

"Alright. I'm going to believe you because you're such a sweetheart and Riley trusts you. Let me go find it. I'll be back in a jiff." he said. Serah wondered if she would have had a harder time if Gerard wasn't so drunk at the moment. She thanked her lucky stars that he was. Gerard came back three minutes later with the address.

"Here you go, my dear. If Claire asks, I didn't give it to you. You found it in the phonebook." He said with a greater lisp than usual thanks to the alcohol. The phone book! Why didn't she think of that? It took a decent amount of effort for Serah to not smack herself in the forehead right there.

"Thank you, Gerard. This means so much to me," she said and left him to his evening.

* * *

Lightning walked into the darkened establishment and walked straight to the bar on the side wall. Different colored lights dramatically lit the other walls in the bar. There were various raised platforms with poles rising vertically from the floor and other poles hanging horizontally from the ceiling. Go Go dancers used them to spin, dance and hang from while patrons looked on in a mixture of lust and awe. One wall was painted black and oddly enough had stained glass window accents in some of the panels. Other walls were brick and yet others were stone. There was a room away from the main dance floor with tables and there were plush couches sectioned off from the rest of the bar tucked in against the walls.

Claire ordered her drink; a glass of straight, chilled, Grey Goose vodka from a woman with shoulder length blonde hair and a friendly smile. The bar was busy, but that didn't seem to detract from her customer service skills and for that Claire was impressed. Claire left the woman a generous tip and turned around to sip her drink and scan the crowd for a potential bed mate for the evening. Claire saw beautiful faces everywhere as she glanced over the dance floor. She was so caught up in her perusal that she didn't register a short woman walk up to her and start dancing.

The small woman had a short brown pixie cut, a toned body and way too much alcohol because she was practically humping the air a barely respectable distance away from Claire's person while facing her. Claire had never been _danced at_ before. The woman left absolutely no doubt about who her dance "partner" was. Claire was being very passionately danced at indeed and was at a loss for what to do since the situation was so bizarre and she was practically trapped against the bar with her back against it and two stools on either side of her. She wasn't about to turn around and leave her back facing the tiny ball of drunken jubilation because who knows what the unpredictable woman would try and she didn't want to make a scene getting rid of her. So she just raised her eyebrow and gave the best glare she could manage while taking a sip of her vodka. No sense in getting thrown out when she hadn't achieved her purpose yet. Why did things like this always happen to her?

Claire patiently waited for the woman to get bored and leave. She was almost done with her drink and the song was nearly over when she felt an arm around her waist and a warm body press against her side. She felt the stranger lean in and speak into her ear over the music.

"It looks like you could use a rescue" the mystery woman said.

Under normal circumstances Lightning would have been very pissed off at the invasion of personal space, but when she turned to face the woman all thoughts of telling her off vanished when she saw how beautiful she was. She had long black hair, light colored eyes and radiant pale skin. Claire couldn't tell if her eyes were blue or green in the lighting of the club, but regardless, the woman was a dead ringer for Jennifer Connelly and she was very much Claire's type.

Claire leaned in and gave "Jennifer" a seductive kiss on the cheek at the base of her ear lobe and said "thank you" in her equally seductive voice.

Jennifer's arm tightened its hold on Claire's waist as she leaned in to speak into her ear again. "I'm not done saving you yet," she said and captured Claire's lips with her own_. Hmmm. A savior for the savior, _Claire thought. She was starting to believe there was such a thing as good karma as she grasped the back of the woman's neck, pulled her in deeper and took control of the kiss.

By this time the dancing imp caught onto Claire's unavailability, gave up and left her in peace. Claire broke the kiss and lead Jennifer through the crowd to one of the couches secluded from the rest of the bar. The two sat down next to each other on the soft couch. Claire was about to ask Jennifer about herself, when the other woman reached over and began running her fingers through the long side of Claire's hair. The sensation made her scalp tingle and sent a pleasant sensation down her spine. She looked up and locked eyes with the other woman as she leaned in for another kiss. _Not one to mince words I see, _Claire thought, and gently returned the kiss which just as easily heated up.

She felt Jennifer's hand run up her body and palm her breast. This woman moved fast. That's not what bothered Claire though. What bothered her was that it wasn't Jennifer's hand she was feeling on her breast. In her mind's eye it was Serah's hand on her breast. It was Serah touching her. It was Serah kissing her. She tried to soldier through it and focus just on Jennifer, but it just wasn't happening. There was no connection there to pull her in and distract her from Serah. She felt a hand run up her inner thigh and touch her most sensitive place. Again in her mind's eye it was Serah touching her.

She grabbed Jennifer's wrist and pulled her hand away from her already moist panties. She couldn't go through with it. Not only was she picturing Serah, but there just wasn't a strong enough connection. Claire didn't just fool around with any random stranger. The person had to be really special. She must have been really desperate to have thought this would have suddenly changed.

"I have to go," Claire said.

Jennifer slowly removed her hand from Claire's grasp and looked disappointed.

"Here, let me get your phone number." Claire suggested as she pulled her phone out of her clutch only to notice that it was dead. She put it back in and pulled out a small note pad and pen she had in there. "What's your name?"

"My name is Sarah," the brunette said. Claire's eye twitched and it took all of her will power not to glare at the woman. _Damn it_.Sarah gave Claire her number and Claire got up and left without further ceremony.

* * *

Claire was about ready to call it a night. After her day, she felt that only sleep would grant her a respite from her thoughts of Serah. She parked her car in the shared garage behind her townhouse and walked around to her front door. Sitting on her doorstep was Serah with her head in her hands and tears streaming down her face. Serah heard footsteps stop in front of her and she looked up.

"Lightning" Serah said with a sniffle and stood up.

"Serah… What are you doing here?" Lightning asked hesitantly.

"I needed to see you before you decided you never wanted to see me again." Agony laced the end of Serah's sentence and she began to sob even harder. Lightning placed a careful hand on Serah's shoulder. Serah leaned in at the contact and moved in to embrace Claire in a firm hug. Sobs shook Serah's body as Claire hesitantly and then more securely wrapped her arms around Serah's trembling body. Feelings of sadness and comfort flowed through Claire, like coming home from a long journey.

"Everything is going to be okay, Serah" Claire said and placed her cheek atop Serah's head, pulling her closer.


End file.
